Banksy's 'Designated Graffiti Area'

Photo taken Sep 2022 Gavin (Atlas Obscura User)

This entry is a stub

Help improve Atlas Obscura by expanding Banksy's 'Designated Graffiti Area' with additional information or photos.

Illegal graffiti is usually seen as something that should be removed but in the case of the anonymous street artist Banksy, it is a work of art that must be preserved.

Banksy’s work appears on walls, streets, bridges, buildings, and countless other surfaces around the world. The graffitist employs existing backgrounds as his easel, manipulating and using the settings themselves to help communicate his messages. Given the illicit, prankish nature of much of his work, it has been denounced, acclaimed, defaced, and appraised in about equal measure.

Banksy’s “Designated Graffiti Area,” located in the back the Cargo Club in London is no exception as it has been covered in plexiglass to protect it both from being white-washed or further marked by less acclaimed street artists.

Know Before You Go

From Shoreditch High Street, take Rivington Street underneath the viaduct. The viaduct itself is home to its fair share of graffiti, but for the graffiti wall look for the ornate wrought iron railings with the arch that says 'London'.

The gate may or not be open. The Banksy artwork is the nearest to the gate. Access is level and the artwork should be visible when the gate is closed.

The nearest stations are Old Street, Liverpool Street, Shoreditch High Street and Hoxton.